Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and a method for discriminating a bill using a radio frequency (RF) signal, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for discriminating a bill that may detect at least one of the thickness and state of the bill and/or the presence of a foreign object on the bill, using the RF signal.
Discussion of the Related Art
Typically, a bill discrimination apparatus is an apparatus for discerning whether an inserted bill is valid or whether it is suitable for distribution. For example, the apparatus may discriminate or determine the fitness of the bill, such as whether the bill is old, new or damaged, or whether it is a counterfeit bill.
The bill discrimination apparatus mentioned in the present disclosure is used as a concept that includes various bill handling apparatuses having bill counting or bill examination functions, as well as a counterfeit bill detection function. The bill discrimination apparatus is used in a financial institution such as a bank, a currency exchange office, or a post office, or in a company or store that handles checks and currency, such as a currency transport company, a gas station, an adult entertainment establishment, a casino, a restaurant, a hotel, a department store, a supermarket, a duty free shop, a big-discount store, and a convenience store.
The bill discrimination apparatus may accurately count the number of bills corresponding to the amount for withdrawal or deposit that is requested by a user, or discern whether the bill is a counterfeit bill, whether there are doubled bills, or whether there is a bill having a foreign object thereon. The bills to be counted may randomly include old bills that are previously issued and used, crumpled bills, folded bills, bills having holes, bills having foreign objects or tape thereon, etc.
New bills have a constant thickness, but old bills may have different thicknesses depending on their state (or condition), and especially in the case of bills to which tape is attached, a region of the bill to which the tape is attached may have a thickness larger than that of an untaped bill.
Thus, a traditional bill discrimination apparatus that detects the state (or condition) or thickness of the bill by an ultrasonic method or by the displacement difference of a transfer roller has limitations in that it is possible to incorrectly discriminate that one old bill is two or more new bills or vice versa, it is difficult to accurately determine a bill to which tape (e.g., a thin tape) is attached, and the manufacturing cost is relatively high. Also, a bill discrimination apparatus that detects the state of a bill using visible light or infrared light has also been proposed, but it has a drawback in that the reliability is low (e.g., errors may occur).
Background art of the present disclosure can be found in Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2006-0060758 (published on Jun. 5, 2006 and entitled “PAPER MONEY THICKNESS MEASUREMENT DEVICE”).